STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — On the morning of Sept. 11, Edward K. Oliver slipped into the dark nursery of his home in Jackson, N.J., and kissed his wife goodbye. He had a morning meeting, so he left at 6:15 a.m., an hour earlier than usual.

"He told me he loved me and to have a good day and then he walked out," said his wife, the former Sheryl Budke.

He is now among those who are missing as a result of the World Trade Center attack.

Mr. Oliver, 31, was a commodities broker at Carr Futures, a brokerage firm that had offices in the Twin Towers and in a building a few blocks from the World Trade Center.

On any other morning, Mr. Oliver wouldn't have been in Manhattan at that time; he probably wouldn't have even stepped onto the ferry in New Jersey yet. On any other morning, he would have probably been safe in his own office, a few blocks away.

But on the morning of the attack, he was attending a meeting in a conference room on the 92nd floor of Tower 1.

When his wife watched the first news reports, she didn't even realize he was in the Trade Center -- she assumed the meeting was at his regular office. Her husband did try calling, but the connection was weak and she could barely hear him. After a few seconds the line went dead.

With two young children, Mr. Oliver spent almost all of his leisure time with his family. He celebrated the christening of his 4-month-old son, Eddie, the weekend before the tragedy. He was teaching his 2-year-old daughter, Emily, how to hit a ball off a tee and was planning a possible trip to Hershey Park for later this month.

Even when he mowed the lawn, Emily would sit on his lap and ride along. The plan was for Eddie to be next in line to ride on the mower.

Mr. Oliver was born and raised in Prince's Bay and lived there until about 18 months ago, when he moved to Jackson with his family.

He went to PS 3 in Pleasant Plains and to Totten Intermediate School, Tottenville, before graduating in 1988 from Tottenville High School, where he was a star on the golf team.

Mr. Oliver met and fell in love with his wife, Sheryl, 10 years ago, while on vacation in Daytona Beach, Fla. At the time she lived in Ohio, and the two would meet in Pennsylvania on the weekends. Two years later, she moved east and the couple married soon after.

With their new life together in their new home, the couple had an ongoing joke about the yard, which was Mr. Oliver's great pride.

"He was a Staten Islander," Mrs. Oliver said. "He used to joke around about how he had the best lawn on the block, even though he knew he didn't."

When the weather was nice and when he had the time, Mr. Oliver could be found on the golf course. Although he didn't play every weekend, he never missed playing each August with the other men in his family when the entire group vacationed in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Mr. Oliver was a devoted sports fan and loyally watched New York Ranger and New York Yankee games. He liked to record all the fights between players when he watched hockey games and would then piece them together to create highlight tapes.

He was just as faithful to "The Honeymooners" -- a TV program he watched repeatedly. He had volumes of episodes on tape, recorded when marathons of the sitcom were run on special occasions.

"He was beautiful, inside and out," his wife said. "I find myself thinking that I'm honored that he chose me."

Mr. Oliver had a good sense of humor, but as his wife put it, "he never wasted a laugh."

"His personality was genuine," she said. "He didn't fake it. You knew if he laughed, he thought something was really funny."

In addition to his wife, Sheryl, and his two children, Emily and Eddie, surviving are his parents, Donald and Barbara; his two brothers, Don and James, and his sister, Barbara Smith.

Friends and family will gather in the Harmon Home for Funerals, West Brighton, on Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. and Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A memorial service will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Reformed Church of Prince Bay, Prince's Bay.

Donations can be sent to the Edward K. Oliver Memorial Fund at 18 Grover Court, Jackson, N.J., 08527.